Chapter 13

013. Sounds Alike

There were a lot of cars at the university’s east gate. The girls stopped in front of a car and left first, before it was finally their (the boys’) turn.

Zhao Xibai was the biggest among them, so he got the front seat. While He Jin, because of his thin stature, could only be squeezed in the middle of the back seat. That was fine, until he realized that they had hired a mad flying driver. So early in the morning, and yet he was driving the car like he had been injected by chicken blood, madly stepping on the throttle and braking all the time. Hejin’s body was being thrown to his left and right over and over again, colliding straight into Qin Yu and Shang’s body.

[T/N: To inject chicken blood (打鸡血) = means someone who is so excited that it appears he/she has been injected by drugs.]

The drive would take about half an hour. After 20 minutes, He Jin felt hungry and tried to eat a loaf of bread in the car, however, he ended up almost throwing up half his stomach’s content instead. His face was pale and his head had become dizzy.

This “Lake Tour” was located in the city’s most famous “Kunming Lake Scenic Area”. Be it in winter and spring, summer and autumn, there were always a large number of tourists coming to this place. Luckily, it was almost late autumn, so there were less people. He Jin had visited this place once  when he first entered the university as freshman one or two years ago, together with his newly-met roommate. And now,  as He Jin looked at his surrounding, he was hit by the thought of just how fast time seemed to pass by.

When they got there, the girls had not arrived yet, so they got off the car first and went to the scenic gate to wait for them.

Zhao Xibai brazenly praised their driver: “That mister drives too good ah, I felt like I was on a plane at the front seat! it was exciting!”

Shang yawned: “I’m still dizzy, want to sleep…”

Qin Yu: “He was braking too much, it will damage the tire oil.” ”

Zhao Xibai: “Gee, really? You can drive? ”

Shang: “He got a car when he graduated from high school.”

Zhao Xibai: “Wow, it’s the first time I hear that. How come I never see you drive before?”

Qin Yu: “I put the car at home. Only going to school, why should I drive a car.”

Zhao Xibai: “What brand?”

Qin Yu: “Jaguar, a general car.”

Their topic quickly turned to talk about car brands and their performances. While He Jin was listening to them, his attention was drawn by Qin Yu’s voice. His pronunciation, and the way he talk somehow gave him a strange sense of familiarity… He Jin thought about it, and when he finally realized just whose voice it actually reminded him of, his heart began jumping fiercely!

–Yes, he thought of Fire.

However, the thought of the ” eight years had not divorced in-game husband” and this “just met school idol brother” being the same person never crossed He Jin’s mind. After all, there were so many people in the world, so there should also be some who had similar voices. How could he be paranoid just because of this little familiarity?

However, the familiar feeling did make He Jin began thinking of Fire again.

What is Fire doing now? Playing a game? Is he still angry and depressed about me running offline? Will he give up?

-_-#~ Stop it, He Jin! You’ve come to seek distraction today, don’t think about it…

“Your name is He Jin, right?” At this time, Zhao Xibai suddenly opened his mouth, seemingly only just realized He Jin’s existence among them, “we actually chatted among ourselves, I almost forget about you.”

He Jin smiled: “It’s nothing, you can talk, I’ll just listen. I like listening to other people, it is very interesting.”

Zhao Xibai smiled, and turned the topic to be about He Jin’s life. They launched a series of in-depth questions about He Jin, asking him about what he did in the student union, who told him about the lake tour, learned about his hobby, and so on.

In all honesty, He Jin’s life was really boring. On weekdays, when he was not in class, he’d go to read some professional-related books, or browsing news online, In his first two years in the student union, he was also always busy with all kinds of trivia things like organizing activities and doing publicity. This year, because he quit the student union, he was mostly free, but still, the quality of his after-school life did not seem to improve much.

Afraid that his answers would make the other boys felt boring, He Jin hurriedly changed the topic: “Right, doesn’t the tennis club practice every day?”

Hua University Tennis Club was famous all over the country, and they also had a national team players a few years ago. Shang Bai Jian, as the tennis club president, was the most qualified to answer this question: “Not necessarily, mainly it depends on personal interests. A lot of students actually only practiced for a brief period… However, the schedule for regular players will be more formal, and if there is a big competition coming, they are required to practice every day.”

Just then, the girls finally arrived and butted in: “What are you guys talking about?” ”

Zhao Xibai: “He Jin asked us about the tennis club.”

Guo You: “Hey, playing tennis can be really tiring! The last time Zhao Xibai took me to play tennis, my hands were sore for two days even though I’ve only hit the ball a few times! ”

“That’s because your posture is not right. Tennis is not played by relying on your hands, but by your waist…” Shang then demonstrated a swing standard posture, his waist twisting slightly, “You gain power with your whole body, if the posture is wrong, then your hands will hurt.”

Shang’s body seemed to exude an unique charm as he talked of something he was passionate about.

On the side, one of the girls who had been watching suddenly blushed: “So handsome …”

Shang: “So to play tennis well, your waist must be in good health. For a professional player, a waist injury can be very fatal.”

Guo You pouted and complained at Zhao Xibai: “It’s him who didn’t teach me good!”

Zhao Xibai felt wronged: “What are you talking about, I taught you all about it!”

That conversation happened as they walked to the scenic area. He Jin thoughtfully followed behind them while trying to learn the arm movement Shang Bai Jian had showed before. He only ever played badminton for a brief period during junior high school, and after he entered university, he never participated in any sport anymore…

At this moment, when his wrist was slightly raised, Qin Yu suddenly appeared at his side. He helped He Jin to correct his posture, holding his wrist personally to help him make a demonstration.

He Jin: “Thank you …”

Qin Yu: “Interested in tennis?”

He Jin: “Yes, just never played.”

Qin Yu: “If you are interested, then visit the tennis club.”

He Jin fell into another burst of trance, Qin Yu and Fire’s voice … It really sounded alike.

***

They were talking and laughing all along the embankment, until they arrived at the cruise ship pier. Guo You handed a lake tour ticket to each of them. One ticket was worth one hundred yuan. The lake tour would last for about two hours, until they arrived ashore from the lake’s other end. After that, they had planned to eat lunch there.

Everyone put on a life jacket, and sat on the yacht. The originally charming girls now looked chubby wearing the life jacket. They took a look of their own appearances on their respective smart bracelets.

“Taking a selfie like this is so not good looking!”

“Then let’s wait until we get off!”

A medium-sized cruise only had eight chairs, lined up in a total of four rows, each with two chairs opposite each other. In order to balance the weight, this time men and women had to be mixed. The cruise was electric-powered, so they only needed to sit and the ship’s rudder would advance it automatically.

The girls would like to get more familiar with Qin Yu, and began gossiping about him.

Guo You: “I never thought Qin Yu would come toda …”

Li Yao Yao: “Yes ah, I always feel that he is so mysterious usually! ”

Zhao Xibai smiled: “It is in my honour!”

Li Yao Yao: “Nonsense, last time we also used ‘friendship’ excuse to invite him, but he still didn’t promise anything.”

Guo You guessed: “I think it’s because Qin Yu is giving senior Shang some face ah.”

Shang Bai Jian waved a hand: “It has nothing to do with me, I didn’t think he would come too.”

All the girls: “Eh, then what’s the reason? ”

Shang had to confess the reason: “He said he’s in a bad mood, wants to come out to distract himself.”

Girls: “Oh ~ ~ ~”

During this time, the day was long. Amidst the sound of autumn cicadas, the young men and women’s laughter seemed to have brightened the atmosphere around them, adding a few colors to the bleak scene of their surroundings, and made even the gloomy lake and mountain to appear more lively.

Qin Yu sat facing the lake, the corners of his mouth hooked up slightly. He did not say a word, but no one thought he was acting arrogant, just the fact that he actually came today had given them a lot of face. Not to mention, his expression seemed to indicate that he acquiesced to them gossiping about him.

The girls naturally refused to let go of this great opportunity to ask: “Qin Yu, what do you do besides playing tennis after class?”

Qin Yu: “Watch the tennis game, sleep.”

Li Yao Yao stared: “So domestic…”

Shang: “You don’t look at him like this, he is actually a dead otaku Ah! ”

Qin Yu: “…”

But even so, the girls still had a crazy infatuated expressions: “I like boys who love to stay at home, those are the best ah!”

Shang: “…”

A girl whispered with a red face: “Qin Yu, do you play any games? I’m playing a domestic game called ‘God Demon’, and there is a big God in this game called Fire Ruthless …”

Hearing this, Qin Yu and He Jin turned simultaneously to look at the girl.

The one who just spoke was Li Yao Yao’s roommate, called Jiao Xu Jing. When she saw Qin Yu looking at her, Xu Jing’s face turned even redder. She stammered,”I saw his live broadcast before, and I feel, I feel yours and his voice sound alike …”

He Jin: “…..” so he wasn’t the only one feeling like that!

He only attended this lake tour casually, but unexpectedly met someone who played “God Demon” and also knew about Fire Ruthless, how to say… somehow it felt so mysterious.

Qin Yu paused and said calmly: “I don’t play games.”

After listening to Qin Yu’s answer, He Jin suddenly felt relieved… He thought, ‘Of course, how could there be such a coincidence.’

Xu Jing also looked a little lost, so Li Yao Yao said: “Ah, I see you really are obsessed to that Ruthless. I’ll tell you now, even if his online voice sounds good, so what, in reality he is certainly a giant ugly man. Even if he sounds so magnetic, perhaps actually he is a big fat man in real life, do not delude yourself in fantasy ah!”

Qin Yu: “…..”

He Jin who could not help imagining Fire as a “ugly” and “fat” man, suddenly felt not so guilty anymore (￣_￣| | |) … Oh no! He Jin! It’s not right to judge by appearances!

Guo You now began to grumble at Zhao Xibai: “Look at others! When are you going to quit the ‘Magic Tower?’ I want to spend some time with you every day. ”

Zhao Xibai bowed his head, begging for mercy: “Grandma said, ‘no Magic Tower, no brothers’. I”m playing the game with my friends ah, they need me!”

Guo You: “What fallacy, fuck off!”

The two of them continued their lover quarrel, unaware by an envy-filled gaze aimed at them. Tong Xuan sat down at He Jin’s side, who held out a bread to her, “You haven’t eaten breakfast yet, right?”

Hearing this, Tong Xuan’s heart turned sour, she didn’t know whether to feel sentimental or touched. She thought of herself who had once fallen for this person, and bit by bit, had wanted to teach him to fall in love, to guide him to start saying goodnight to his girlfriend, to buy breakfast for her… But even so, the only thing she got in return was disappointment, which grew bigger and bigger until it eventually became unbearable for her. And they broke up.

To be honest, He Jin didn’t really do anything wrong. He was just clueless, still without any clue about “love”. In other word, he never really loved her from the start.

However,  He Jin still retained some of his habits from their dating days; buying this bread was one of them.

Tong Xuan said to him, a hint of hope coloring her voice:  “If you were half as lively as Zhao Xibai, we wouldn’t have broken up.”

He Jin smiled lightly: “Aren’t we also good friends like this? I think there is no difference ah.”

Tong Xuan bristled, and angrily shoved the bread back to He Jin’s hand: “I am not hungry, you eat it!”

He Jin: “…..” What did I say wrong? (=_=)